Directions: 1. To cook the apples: Place butter and sugar in a large fry pan over low-medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add apple slices and cook for 8-10 minutes or until apples are lightly caramelized. Remove apples from pan and let cool completely.

2. To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325°F Line 24 4-fl-oz-capacity muffin wells with paper liners.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides if the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and grated zest.

5. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until flour is barely incorporated. Add the milk and mix until just smooth.

6. Divide the batter among lined muffin wells, filling each well about 2/3 full. Top with the apples.

7. Bake at 325F until a cake tested comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cupcakes on cooling racks. Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.

8. To frost the cupcakes: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioner's sugar and cinnamon and beat for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Frost the cupcakes.(image)

The cupcake craze may be trending downward, which is perhaps why it's a good thing Sprinkles is going to start selling ice cream in a newly leased, 1,000 square-feet spot adjacent to its enormous store on the Upper East Side. The new space, at 782 Lexington Avenue, will also have a cupcake ATM built into its façade, which allows convenient access to sweets, 24-7. The machine's L.A. counterpart has been known to attract sugar-craving child TV stars.

America's Best CupcakesJoel FinemanCrumbs Bake Shop [more photos]At a time of the year when we make daily diet affirmations, cupcakes—those sinister calorie-carriers—slip past our defenses. They're just so small and cute! Whether they are homemade or from the gourmet shop around the corner, cupcakes prove irresistible to coworkers, kids, men, and women. Their delicate appearance, infinite variability, and colorful frosting have enabled cupcakes to conquer the nation (and topple our New Year's resolutions).In the delicious reign of cupcakes, there have been some standout distributors—shops that not only showcased the delicacies but also aided our addictions. Thanks to a loyal band of cupcake fanatics, these pint-size stores have become institutions, monuments even, to this hand-held treat. For die-hards, stepping up to the altar—oops, we mean counter—of these shops is the delectable conclusion to an oh-so-sweet pilgrimage. And for those in the Midwest, it's a fairly long trek to get to one of the shops listed below. The cupcake trend began on the coasts, but it is slowly (but surely) moving inland. However, the landmarks remain in coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.Although Red Velvet seems to be the go-to flavor for customers throughout the country, we encourage you to the try the more creative inventions at these eminent cupcakeries.[In Pictures: America's Best Cupcakes]Crumbs Bake ShopNew York City, New YorkMost Creative Cupcake: White Hot Chocolate ($4.50)Run by Mia and Jason Bauer, Crumbs Bake Shop began serving gourmet cupcakes on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2003. Since then, the bakery has taken its staggering popularity in stride, opening new locations along the East Coast and in California. Crumbs whips up more than 50 varieties daily; with so many to choose from, expect to find flavors ranging from the tried-and-true vanilla with sprinkles to quirkier concoctions like apple cobbler. If you aren't overwhelmed by the delicious array of goodies, check out the "Colossal Crumb." This cupcake stands more than six inches tall, so you should gather your friends to tackle this treat.SusieCakesBrentwood, CaliforniaMost Creative Cupcake: Morning-After Mimosa Cupcake ($3)SusieCakes [more photos]With her grandmothers' recipes in hand, Susan Sarich found a way to pass on her family treats to a new generation. In Brentwood, Calif., (a suburb of L.A.), SusieCakes opened its doors to sweet-toothed Californians in 2006. The shop's myriad desserts—there are more than just cupcakes here—look simple and tasty, lacking the excessive ornamentation often found at other bakeries. Here, you'll find lemon squares, snickerdoodles, and butterscotch toffee pudding that will bring you back to your childhood. But Susan's inventive twist on the cupcake is what has most people talking. Susie's Signature "Frosting Filled" Cupcakes come in nine regular flavors, including Luscious Lemon, Fluffy Coconut, and Vanilla with Pastel Vanilla Frosting. Meanwhile, seasonal favorites like Salted Caramel Apple and Morning-After Mimosa keep patrons asking, "What's next?"BakedBrooklyn, New YorkMost Creative Cupcake: Green Tea ($2)This suggestively named shop in Brooklyn is so good that it lures Manhattanites away from their sacred island and their own cupcake dealers. Owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito have transformed a potentially ordinary neighborhood bakery and coffee shop into a nationally recognized confectionary. Baked has been featured on NBC's Today Show, the Martha Stewart Show, and the Food Network. And in a survey of 47 New York cupcake purveyors, SeriousEats.com crowned Baked the top shop in the city, citing the Lemon Drop and Sweet and Salty cupcakes in its testimony. One of the nice things about Baked is its willingness to share its recipes with others. You can purchase the shop's recipe book or its easy-[...]

Ohh La La! Be sure to check out these cupcake apps for iPhone, iPod, and iPad bakers! They are fun and useful for both the savvy and the novice cupcake baker!#1: Food Network Cupcakes for iPad...Become a better baker with Food Network’s Cupcake app, a whirl of 100+ winning recipes (including 30+ all-new, kitchen-tested recipes), decorating how-tos and you-can-do-it tips for the best sweet treats of the season. Cost: $2.99. Search iTunes iPad apps for Food Network Cupcakes.#2: Hello Cupcake...★★★ Chosen by Apple as App of the Week! ★★★ Cupcake Lovers: Prepare to be amazed. Elegant butterflies, darling ducks, and playful penguins are just a few of the cupcake projects contained in the Hello Cupcake! app. Once you start exploring you won’t be able to stop — or stop smiling. Cost: $2.99. Search iTunes apps for Hello Cupcake.3. Sprinkles Cupcakes...Introduces a freshly baked app sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. This free app dishes out free cupcakes, one-click menu access, virtual cupcakes gifting, a memory game, bakery locator, and more! Cost: free. Search on iTunes for Sprinkles Cupcakes.4. Messy Cake Cupcakes...The Messy Cake Company are proud to announce the launch of our Cupcake Recipes app. The app contains six exclusive recipes that you are sure to adore! Also includes a tips section, sharing trade secrets n how to make the perfect cupcake! Cost $0.99. Search on iTunes for Messy Cake Cupcakes.5. Vegan Cupcakes Pre...Vegan Cupcakes will change your world! In this sweet and sassy guide, you'll discover 75 recipes for cupcakes and frosting--some innovative, some classic--all certain to make your most carnivorous friends wish they were vegan! Cost $4.99. Search iTunes apps for Vegan Cupcakes.Let me know what you think of these apps and have a great week! CQ[...]

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT STORY—

On Monday, Mamie Doyle sold 600 cupcakes, about triple what she usually sells on that day at Miss Mamie’s Cupcakes, Cakes and Such, located just off the Marietta Square.

But the sales boost didn’t come out of nowhere. The night before, Doyle and her assistant, Erin Chupp-Sintos, beat out three other bakers from around the country and won a $10,000 prize on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.”

These cupcakes are so yummy, you might want to eat them all yourself! The recipe is below.....Enjoy! CQMartha Stewart's Chocolate Salted Caramel CupcakesThe CupcakesIngredients1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder1 1/2 cups sugar1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda3/4 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt2 large eggs3/4 cup buttermilk3 tablespoons vegetable oil1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract3/4 cup warm waterDirectionsPreheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.Spoon the batter into liners about two-thirds full. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month in air tight containers.To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #1M) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers - do NOT refrigerate. Enjoy!Salted Caramel FillingIngredients:2 1/2 cups sugar2/3 cup water1 tablespoon light corn syrup3/4 cup heavy whipping cream2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de selDirectionsHeat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.Cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. Remove rom heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.Dark Chocolate FrostingIngredients:1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted1/4 teaspoon salt1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooledDirections:Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.With electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month in an air tight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again.[...]

Layla would have loved today...lying out on the back deck, nose up high sniffing the soft breeze...happy as a clam. Layla was my cupcake baking partner...I made the cupcakes and she got to have her photo taken with the cupcakes...and some of the time she actually got to taste a bit of frosting or just some of the cupcake. She was always willing to participate in the baking process!

Layla has been ill for more than a month since the vet discovered that she had canine dilated cardiomyopathy. This morning it got the best of her and she passed over the rainbow bridge around 3:30 a.m. Today I know that Layla has become part of that breeze I feel. RIP Layla 4.4.11...I am missing you today and forever. My heart is very sad today.

Today was my last day of physical therapy for my "Lucky" knee replacement...2-1/2 months worth! I made these cupcakes for the ladies at the Shady Grove Center for Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation. They are the most awesome people and I recommend them highly...Pat, Lita, Jen, Karen, and Jan!

Layla and Nigel are keeping me safe through my post op phase. We just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday...no baking for Layla or CQ this Christmas...had a knee replacement on Dec. 15, so we're off our feet for a while!

These are butternut squash cupcakes with sage frosting! They are very moist and taste awesome!They are made using a Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Spice Premium Cake Mix!Here is the recipe that makes 24 cupcakes:Ingredients:For cake:--1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Spice Premium Cake Mix--1 large butternut squashFor frosting:--1 bunch of sage--3 tablespoons of water--3 tablespoons of granulated sugar--12 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)--1/2 cup butter (room temperature)--1 cup of eggnog (or milk, if you prefer)3-4 cups of powdered sugarHeat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. Peel, quarter and remove seeds from butternut squash. Place in a large sauce pan covered with water and bring to a boil until squash is tender. Put the pieces in a food processor or blender, then set aside for a while.Make cake mix as directed on package. When cooled, fold the butternut squash into the cake mix. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.Frosting directions:Chop up the sage so that it's in very fine pieces. Heat the sugar and water in a small sauce pan under medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add the sage to the sugar water mixture and heat over low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Set aside to let cool.Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy...about 2 minutes.Stir the sage syrup into the butter and cream cheese mixture. Add the eggnog or milk to the mixture.Finally, add the powered sugar a little at a time to the mixture until you have the mixture you want.Now, frost your cupcakes...you will receive very happy praises from your Thanksgiving guests!Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!CQ and Layla[...]

When was in Marlboro, New York recently I had the awesomest Magic Cookie Bars made by Meghan Gaffney...I fell in love! So, I asked Meghan to send me the recipe...which she did! I made the bars as cupcakes...I divided the entire recipe ingredients into twelve parts and made them into cupcakes! When I took them out of the oven, it seemed as if they hadn't baked all the way through.I was ready to throw them away, but let them sit overnight. The next morning, they had set up and had hardened over night! I was so surprised...and happy. Took them to work where they were devoured and everyone said they were the BEST!Here's the recipe:Melt 1 stick of butter with 1-1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs; press mixture into cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers (sprayed with PAM) to form a crust. (Divide by weight into the 12 cupcake liners.)Pour one ounce of condensed milk (from 12 ounce can) over crumbs in the cupcake liner.Sprinkle 12oz bag of mini chocolates chips (1 ounce in each cupcake liner) on top of the condensed milk.Lastly, cover each "cupcake" with 1-1/3 cups of coconut flakes (divided by 12). Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.Have a great week...working on Thanksgiving cupcakes next!!!CQ[...]

Roxanne: These are for you!What can I say...I love Halloween and really look forward to these nutty set-ups I create...all meant in fun!The cupcakes themselves are relatively unimportant in this case...it's all about the decorating...however, the folks I work with at UMD thought they tasted great...should I say the obvious? They were DEVIL'S FOOD cupcakes!Enjoy the photos...let yourself go a little crazy this Halloween...take a walk on the wildside!Eat, drink and be scary!CQ and Layla[...]

While my folks never had a trailer like this one, we did have this type of station wagon when I was a kid...and we did go on vacation in it...I remember one time we traveled all the way across the country!

Layla admires the Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting Cupcake from Cake Dreams!Have you ever had people you know tell you that you should go someplace...that it's really great, the best, etc? Well, several people who know the Queen have asked her if she'd been to Cake Dreams in Rockville, MD. The answer was always not yet...they only opened last January...I'm just sayin'...The fact is CQ hardly ever buys cupcakes.So, when CQ pulled into the parking lot last Friday night to pick up dinner from Bombay Bistro, she realized she was right there...right there at Cake Dream and they were open until 7:00! CQ was in luck and she was lookin' to purchase six cupcakes to try out...and share with her readers!CQ opened the door and there was a guy behind the counter...who turned out to be Michelle's (the cake and cupcake creator) husband, Kevin. CQ mentioned to him that she baked cupcakes and had a blog. He asked CQ what the name of her blog was...when she said 52 Cupcakes, Kevin said "We were wondering when you'd come in!"Chocolate Raspberry CupcakeThen CQ met Michelle. She was awesome!Vanilla Lemon (CQ's fav!)Okay...now on to the cupcakes CQ and her entourage of four divvied up: Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting, Sweet Chocolate with Sweet Vanilla Frosting, Carrot with Vanilla Frosting, Yellow with Lemon Frosting (CQ's Fav), Chocolate with Raspberry Frosting, and Yellow Caramel!The over-the-top reviews are in...here are some of the comments: Each and every one of the cupcakes that were bought were eaten (what else??), there were sighs of contentment all around, the flavors were deep when they needed to be (see Chocolate Peanut Butter), and light where needed (see Vanilla Caramel)...one a scale of from 1 to 10, with 10 being the BEST!, CQ and her band of cupcake eaters concluded that the Cake Dreams cupcakes were some of the most excellent cupcakes they have ever bought! Hooray for Cake Dreams. The royal "We" will be visiting them again soon.Now, get in your car and go visit them! Tell them that the Cupcake Queen sent you! This is the address: 90 W. Montgomery Ave, Rockville, MD.You might want to follow them on Facebook...(sometimes they give FB fans one free cupcake).Have a great week...remember to Rock On!CQ and Layla[...]